Mobile stretchers or cots are used by paramedics or hospital personnel for transporting patients. The patient is typically kept on the mobile stretcher when loaded into an emergency vehicle. Hence, it is advantageous for stretchers to have an adjustable height so that they may be fit into the vehicle without removing the patient from the stretcher.
Stretchers having adjustable height mechanisms are known in the art, however, all suffer from various disadvantages. Typically, notched or slotted raising or lowering mechanisms are used that provide only fixed height points and thereby lack a wide range of extension and retraction. Moreover, height adjustment in this manner is typically an rough and jarring experience to the patient, and might possibly exacerbate the patient's condition. Known mechanisms for adjusting height also typically have a complex design with numerous parts, requiring an involved manufacturing process. The excess of parts also results in a heavier stretcher, which increases the burden and health risks on hospital and emergency personnel.